


A+Ox4

by pickingoutchinapatterns



Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22596184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickingoutchinapatterns/pseuds/pickingoutchinapatterns
Summary: A+O x 4 is short hand for Awake/Alert and Oriented to person, place, time and situation.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	A+Ox4

**Author's Note:**

> My first little foray back into fic writing. I hope to finish up some other wip’s soon. Thank you so much to @13starbuck42 for your support and feedback! I needed it. Set during season 4.

It’s odd, she thinks, being on the other side of the medical divide. It feels like she’s entered another dimension, one far removed from her role as a healthcare professional. She recognizes the settings, the bright lights, smell of antiseptic, the same standard hospital gowns and blankets. She thought that she had the advantage going in, when she was first admitted to hospital. Blood work to check her lytes, trops, BUN, d-dimer, sugars and other markers of health and metabolism. CT scan, MRIs to visualize the interior of the body non-invasively…well, as non-invasive as laying in a claustrophobic loud drumming tube can be. NPO since midnight? Will they really need to use a contrast media? Or would a T1 vs T2 image be sufficient? 

Yes, she knows her name, the date, where she is and why she’s here. GCS 15, PEARLA, lungs clear, no SOB or chest pain, abdo soft, bowel sounds present in all quadrants, no nausea or vomiting, limbs equally strong, pronator drift absent, though these headaches are a real bitch. Dilaudid? Tylenol 3? Certainly made the MRI experience better the second time around. 

Nothing was able to prepare her for when her nurse and physician walked into her semi-private room to deliver the news. Cancer. Honestly, she didn’t really register much beyond that at that time, and finally understood the anger and confusion many of her patients had after she delivered bad news in her med school days. It’s just impossible to take in and process information after hearing that word. She feels like she is outside of herself, hearing the words but not listening. 

Cancer. 

The harsh glare of the fluorescent lights reflect on her physician’s lenses as the word forms on their lips. The clock on the wall ticks slowly, almost mocking the unrealism of the situation. Yes, she still has a pounding headache but she is still awake and alert, oriented to time, person, place and situation. The physician leaves, the nurse moves closer and asks if she has any questions, if there is anything that she needs. Scully wipes her nose, not sure if she’s crying, not sure if she’s wiping away snot or blood, not wanting to look. She wants to stay in this frozen unreal time for just a bit longer, not wanting the news to sink in just yet, to have this bit of time for herself. The second hand still clicks on the wall, beckoning her back to reality. Time, place, person, situation. Dana Scully, this is your life.

**Author's Note:**

> How much longer would she be A+Ox4?


End file.
